Females of F1: the ladies who took the sport by storm

Formula 1 might be famous for fast cars and fearless drivers, but it’s also historically been a bit of a boys’ club.

With over 433 million viewers worldwide tuning in to watch cars hurtle around tracks at breakneck speeds, F1 has become one of the world’s most popular sports – and rightly so.

The sport has its roots in the European Championship or Grand Prix from the 1920s and ‘30s, evolving into the F1 we know and love today in 1946 when the rules were standardised. The first race was the Turin Grand Prix that same year, though the first World Championship didn’t actually happen until 1950, with Giuseppe Farina taking the chequered flag at Silverstone.

But here’s something you might not know: throughout F1’s illustrious history, several remarkable women have broken through the barriers and taken their place on the grid.

Out of over 700 drivers who’ve competed in the sport, that’s admittedly a small number.

But these pioneering women deserve celebrating.

So, buckle up as we take you through the stories of five fantastic females in F1.

Maria Teresa de Filippis: The trailblazer

Born in Naples on 11 November, 1926, Maria Teresa de Filippis was the original queen of the track.

Her racing career started at 22 – not because she’d always dreamed of driving fast cars, but because her brothers bet she’d be too slow to amount to anything.

Big mistake.

She proved them spectacularly wrong by jumping into a Fiat 500 and winning a 10km race between Salerno and Cava de Tirreni. That victory led to her entering the Italian Sports Car Championship in 1954, where she finished second.

Not bad for someone who’d only started racing to win a bet.

Maserati had been keeping an eye on her progress, and they liked what they saw.

They signed her up as a works driver, and she spent the following years competing in endurance and hill-climbing races. Her standout moment came in 1956 when she secured second place in a sports car race supporting the Naples Grand Prix, driving a Maserati 200S.

De Filippis made her F1 debut on 18 May 1958 at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Of 31 entrants, only half qualified, with Maria narrowly missing out alongside a certain Bernie Ecclestone (yes, that Bernie.)

The 1958 season was a mixed bag.

Maria qualified 19th for the Belgian Grand Prix but finished 10th and last – her only race finish. Things got worse at the French Grand Prix, where she was allegedly told by race officials that ‘the only helmet a woman should wear is one at a hairdresser’s’.

Charming.

She qualified last for the Portuguese Grand Prix, but managed just six laps before her engine gave up. Multiple deaths in the sport that year had a profound impact on Maria, and after failing to qualify for Monaco in 1959, she walked away from racing for over 20 years.

She returned to the sport in 1979, joining the International Club of Former F1 Drivers, and eventually becoming president in 1997.

Maria Teresa de Filippis passed away in 2016 at 89, but her legacy as F1’s first female driver lives on.

Lella Lombardi: The record breaker

It was almost two decades before another woman followed in Maria’s tyre tracks, but Lella Lombardi made the wait worthwhile.

Born in Frugarolo on 26 March, 1941, Lombardi started her driving career in the family business. Namely, delivering meat for her father’s butcher shop.

Not exactly glamorous, but it gave her plenty of wheel time.

She progressed through karting, before buying her first racing car in 1965 and entering Formula Monza.

Her big break came in Italian Formula 3 in 1968, where she finished runner-up to Franco Bernabei. By 1970, she was dominating the Italian Formula 850 series, winning four of ten races and claiming the championship title.

The following year brought another championship win in the Formula Ford Mexico series.

Lombardi made her F1 debut in 1975, joining Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck for a full season.

At the opening South African Grand Prix, she became the first woman to qualify since de Filippis. She completed 23 laps before fuel system problems forced her retirement.

Her historic moment came at the Spanish Grand Prix, where she finished sixth and scored half a point. The race was shortened due to a tragic accident that killed five spectators, which was why only half points were awarded, but nevertheless, Lombardi had made history.

She later qualified seventh for the German Grand Prix, before taking on a one-off drive for Williams at the US Grand Prix, though ignition problems prevented her from starting.

She continued racing until 1988, competing multiple times at Le Mans (her best result was ninth in 1976) and even trying NASCAR at Daytona in 1977. After retiring, she founded Lombardi Autosport, which remains active today despite Lella’s death in 1992 at just 50.

Divina Galica: The Olympic speed demon

If you’re going to have a go at Formula 1, you might as well have already conquered another sport first.

That’s exactly what Divina Galica did.

Born in Bushey Heath near Watford on 13 August, 1944, Galica was originally a skier. And not just any skier. She competed in her first Olympics at Innsbruck in 1964 aged just 19, then went on to captain the British Women’s Olympic Ski Team in 1968 and 1972.

She also notched up two World Cup podium finishes and set the women’s downhill skiing record at 125mph.

Her driving career started by accident when she was asked to take part in a celebrity race, and turned out to be rather good at it. Nick Whiting spotted her talent and entered her into the British Shellsport International Group 8 in 1976, driving a Surtees TS16 F1 car.

For the 1976 British Grand Prix, she chose to run with number 13 – the first time it had been used in F1 for 13 years.

Unfortunately, the number lived up to its unlucky reputation, and she failed to qualify. Still, she became one of only seven F1 drivers to have also competed in the Olympics, which is a pretty special accolade.

Galica and Whiting acquired a second-hand Surtees TS19 for the 1977 British series, going head-to-head with Tony Trimmer.

Despite lacking technical expertise, Divina managed a third at Brands Hatch and a second at Donington Park, though Trimmer’s superior engineering knowledge ultimately won him the title.

In 1978, she got another F1 chance with a Hesketh 308E but failed to qualify again. She returned to British Shellsport Championships, securing second at Zandvoort and finishing seventh overall that season.

Galica later moved into Thundersports and truck racing before returning to skiing for the 1992 Olympics.

And, since 2005, she’s been teaching drivers at various racing schools – proof that some people just can’t sit still.

Desire Wilson: The history maker

Sometimes the best things come in small packages.

Desire Wilson’s F1 career was certainly short, but it was incredibly sweet.

Born in Brakpan, South Africa, on 26 November, 1953, Wilson made her name on the South African racing scene before moving to Britain in the late 1970s when a sponsorship deal went sour.

She found work at Brands Hatch, where circuit owner John Webb spotted her talent and became her mentor.

He entered her in the British Aurora F1 Championship, where she completed her first full season in 1979 with four podium finishes and seventh place overall – not bad for a newcomer.

1980 proved to be Desire’s standout year.

She attempted to qualify for the F1 World Championship in a RAM Racing Williams FW07, but didn’t quite make the cut. However, her fortunes changed dramatically later that season when she achieved something no other woman has managed before or since.

She won an F1 race.

Her victory at Brands Hatch in a four-year-old Wolf WR4 made her the only woman in F1 history to win a race of any kind. The performance was so impressive that the circuit named a grandstand after her – although not everyone was thrilled about a woman succeeding in their sport.

Wilson later claimed that male drivers regularly tried to force her off the track.

She did have some success in the World Endurance Championship that year, sharing victories at Monza and Silverstone with Alain de Cadenet, but getting a permanent F1 seat remained elusive.

Tyrrell offered her a drive, and she made a promising start in the opening race, keeping pace with teammate Eddie Cheever and F1 legend Nigel Mansell. Unfortunately, when she moved aside to let leader Nelson Piquet lap her, she accidentally spun and hit the wall.

And – to rub lemon in the proverbial wound – her historic Brands Hatch victory was later stripped of its world championship status due to a political row between Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula 1 Constructors’ Association and the FIA.

Desire Wilson later competed in sports car racing and CART, and the Indianapolis 500 with varying degrees of success, but her place in F1 history was already secured.

Giovanna Amati: The comeback queen

Twelve years passed before another woman took on F1, and Giovanna Amati’s story is perhaps the most dramatic of all.

Born in Rome on 20 July, 1959 to actress Anna Maria Pancani and cinema chain owner Giovanni Amati, Giovanna grew up in wealth and comfort. Her passion for motorsport emerged early, and her family’s resources allowed her to attend racing school to develop her skills.

However, wealth brought with it its own dangers.

At 19, Giovanna was kidnapped from her car on 12 February 1978 and held in a wooden cage for 75 traumatising days until her family paid an 800 million lira ransom. She suffered physical and mental abuse during her captivity – an experience that would have broken most.

Instead, it seemed to fuel her determination.

In 1981, Amati entered Formula Abarth and drove tenaciously for four years, winning several races before moving to Italian Formula Three for the 1985-86 season.

By 1987, she’d progressed to Formula 3000, though she only managed to qualify once in three attempts. Her big break came in January 1992 when Brabham signed her – a move that generated massive publicity for the team.

Unfortunately, Amati’s inexperience with F1 machinery wasn’t helped by limited preparation time.

In the opening South African round, she spun six times during practice, finishing nine seconds behind pole-sitter Nigel Mansell and failing to qualify. Similar struggles in Mexico (10 seconds behind) and Brazil (11 seconds behind) led to Brabham replacing her with Damon Hill after just three races.

She found more success in the 1990s in series like the Porsche Super Cupa and Ferrari Challenge before moving into sports commentary and broadcasting.

Breaking barriers and inspiring change

These five women didn’t just compete in Formula 1 – they blazed a trail for future generations.

From Maria Teresa de Filippis proving her brothers wrong in a Fiat 500 to Desire Wilson making history at Brands Hatch, each brought something special to the sport.

Their stories remind us that talent, determination and courage can overcome even the most daunting barriers. While women remain underrepresented in F1, these pioneers showed it’s possible to compete at the highest level.

And, occasionally, to win.

Who knows? Perhaps the next generation of female drivers will build on these foundations and create even more history.

After all, the best journeys often start with someone brave enough to take the first lap.